Full span flap and aileron control



Jan. 22, 1952 R. T. YOU-NGMAN 2,583,405

} FULL SPAN FLAP AND AILERON CONTROL Filed Oct. 22, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET l I INVENTOR. 20.5222 722.501 yam 4mm Jan. 22, 1952 R. T. YOUNGMAN FULL SPAN FLAP AND AIL-ERON CONTROL 2 Sl-iEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Oct. 22, 1946 INVENTOR. B03552 Z2250? won/51mm Patented Jan. 22, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,583,405 4 i g AILERON Robertjlalbot. Youngman, Longacres, Wooburn Green-,- England Appliance ficttrbai 22,1946, Serial No -704,910

- v Iii Great Britain September 6,1944

sectio f1. iubii'e Law 690, August a. 1943- Patent expires August 21, 1965 2 Claims; (01. 24 1 90) The invention is concerned with aeroplanes having retractable aerofoil flaps extending throughout the whole or the greater part of the span of the and its object is to provide normal aileron control means. capable of operating irrespective of the positional setting of the flaps.

In an aircraft according to the invention the retractable aerofoil fiap carries a hinged rear portion which constitutes an aileron, the arrangement being such that movement of the aileron relative to the flap is permitted when the flap is retracted, and means are provided for operating the aileron in all positions of the flap.

Further according to the invention the movement of the aileron is effected through a lever system operating so that the relative positions of the flap and the aileron mounted thereon are unaffected by the retractive or extending operations of the 'flap.

The nature of the invention and the manner in which it may be performed are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan of one-half of the wing of a single-engined low wing monoplane embodying the invention; Figs. 2 and 3 are diagrammatic sections taken on the lines 11-11 and III-III respectively "of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 isa diagrammatic section depicting a modification, and Fig. 5 is a similar view to Fig. 1 illustrating the application or" the invention to a multi-engined mid-wing aeroplane.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 3 the reference numeral denotes the wing proper and the line lil2 the side of the fuselage. A single flap l3 extends from a point within the fuselage to the wing tip and is supported by parallel links i l, I5 and i6. These links are pivotally attached at their lower ends to the flap it along a common movable axis, and are pivotally connected at their upper ends to fixed frame members of the wing and fuselage along a common fixed axis. The upper and lower pivots of the link Hi are indicated at Ma and Nb in Fig. 4. The upper and lower pivots [5a and b of link 55 and the upper and lower pivots lfia and 16b of link It are indicated in Fig. 1. Rams I! of a gang of hydraulic or other jacks l8 are pivotally connected to the links l4, l5 and it near the lower ends of the latter. The jack associated with the link I4 is mounted on the fuselage at a pivot [to and those associated with the links l5 and IE on the wing H3 at pivots I50 and H50. The pivotal connection Md of the link M with the associated jack is shown in 2 Fig. 4. The other lihk and. jack connections are similar. Additional links may be provided if desired. The jacks l8 operate in synchronism to move the. flap 13 from the. fully retracted position within the recess lfll to the extended position shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The angular movements of. the liap 53 during its extension and retraction are preferably controlled by a single torque link i9 which, i's-pivi otally' connected at one end to the nap l3 at Ha, aft of the link I4 and at the other end to a pivot 20 on-the fuselage. The concealment of the pivotal anchorages of the links within the body or the wing. rendered possible by this arrangement, provides an 'aero-dynamically clean wing adapted for high speed flight'when the flap/is retracted.

The trailing edge or. the flap I3 carries at its outboard end an aileron 2| and the after portion of the wing I0 in the neighbor-hood or the aileron is cut away to provide. space for the operational movement of the latter. The aileron movements may be effected-through the medium of hydraulic, electrical or other. powered mechanism, or through a direct mechanical coupling to the control column. as in the case illustrated in the drawings. Here it will be seen. that the rod or cable 22 leading from the control column (not shown) is attached to one end of. a lever '23 which is pivoted at an intermediate point He onv the inboard flap supporting link 14. The other end of said lever 23 is. connected to av rod or cable 24 which passes through the flap 13' to one arm of a bell crank lever 24a which is pivoted at 2% on the flap l3. The other arm of the bell crank lever 24a is connected through a link 24c to the aileron 2|. The lever 23 is mounted on said link id in such manner that its angular movement takes place in the plane defined by the pivotal axes of the links I4, [5 and i6, so that when said lever 23 is centralized its attachments to the rods or cables 22 and 24 coincide with said axes respectively, and the same angular setting of the aileron 2! in relation to the flap I3 is maintained in all positions of the flap. The attachments of the lever 23 to the elements 22 and 24 are so constructed as to permit three-dimensional movement, and the pivotal bearings of the link It may be made hollow to accommodate the control rod or cable 24 passed through the same.

In the modified arrangement illustrated in Fig. 4, the flap I3 is duplicated over the whole or part of that portion thereof which is not occupied by the aileron 2|. Thus, an auxiliary flap I3! is mounted on the main flap H by means of links HI and I! in a manner similar to that of mounting the latter on the wing I0. The link i4! is pivotally connected to the flap l3 and the auxiliary flap l3l, respectively, at Mia and lb. The link I9! is pivotally connected to the flap l3 and the'auxiliary flap l3l, respectively, at I9la and Hill). "The'a'uxiliary flap BI is operated, for example, by a link 25 connecting it mechanically to the link l4, so that when the main flap I3 is extended the auxiliary flap l3| is likewise extended from its housing recess 132 to the position shown in Fig. 4. The link 25 is pivotally connected to link M at 2511 and to auxiliary flap I31 at Hllb.

In the application of the invention to a multiengined mid-wing type of aeroplane, as exemplifled in Fig. 5, it may be impracticable to mount the inboard flap-supporting links in the fuselage. In such a case the aileron-control rod or cable 22 may be passed through the interior of the wing as shown, to be connected to a lever 23 mounted on the intermediate link l5 from which the aileron-control movements may be transmitted to the aileron in a manner similar to that already described with reference to the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 3. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5, the link I5 is duplicated and the lever 23 is carried by a cross-member I52 connecting the two members l5! which collectively constitute the link. In this case also, the torque link I9 is preferably arranged in tandem with the link l5.

Although the foregoing description is confined to a single flap extending continuously from fuselage to wing-tip, it will be understood that circumstances may require the sub-division of the fiap into two or more component sections, e. g. where the outer panels of a wing have a difierent angular setting from the inboard panels. In such cases those sections of the flaps which are not in the way of the ailerons may be set at greater angles for the purpose of giving increased lift when extended.

In a further embodiment of the invention not illustrated in the drawings), in which the wing tip chord is insufficient to accommodate a full span flap, a normal wing-tip aileron may be used, in conjunction with the aileron-cum-fiap arrangement hereinbefore described, an extension of the aileron control system being provided for the wing-tip aileron. If desired, means may be provided whereby the aileron-control mechanism may be disengaged from the flap aileron for manoeuvring at high speeds, the flap ailerons being brought into use only when the flap is extended.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiments of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiments shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, an aircraft wing, a flap extending along at least a substantial part of the wing span, a plurality of parallel links connecting said flap to said wing, each link having a pivotal connection near one end with said wing along a fixed axis and a pivotal connection near the other end with said flap along a movable axis, a cooperating torque link pivotally mounted at one end upon a separate fixed axis and pivotally connected at the opposite end to the flap at a point substantially removed from said movable axis, the torque link and the parallel links combining to cause bodily retraction or extending movement of said flap with respect to the wing to be effected in response to angular movement of said parallel links, an aileron hinged to the rear portion of said flap, and means for uniformly operating said aileron angularly with respect to said flap in all operative positions of said fiap with respect to said wing, including a lever mounted on one of said links and supported for pivotal movement in the plane defined by the pivotal axes of the links, a lever operatingmember connected to the lever substantially in line with the fixed axis, and a lever operated member connected to the lever substantially in line with the movable axis.

2. The combination as described in claim 1, in which said lever is carried by one of said parallel links within said wing, and the lever operating member is arranged to pass through a portion of said wing.

' ROBERT TALBOT YOUNGMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,236,838 Robert Apr. 1, 1941 2,243,885 Schweisch June 3, 1941 2,254,304 Miller Sept. 2, 1941 2,271,763 Fowler Feb. 3, 1942 2,276,688 Dewoitine Mar. 17, 1942 2,282,647 Dillon May 12, 1942 2,406,073 Griswold Aug. 20, 1946 2,406,923 Stalker Sept. 3, 1946 

